Late quaternary landscape evolution, soil stratigraphy, and geoarchaeology of the Caprock Canyonlands, Northwest Texas, USA

In northwest Texas, USA, between the Southern High Plains to the west and the Central Lowlands to the east, lies a geographic boundary known as the "Escarpment Breaks" or "Caprock Canyonlands." The canyonlands contain abundant springs, lithic resources, shelter, and plant and animal food sources that attracted hunter-gatherer groups. A geoarchaeological study was conducted in the canyonlands to determine the effects of late-Quaternary landscape evolution, especially intensive erosion, on the region's archaeological record. Geomorphic and stratigraphic field research and a total of 95 new radiocarbon age determinations, 94 of which were determined on paired samples, aid in reconstructing an understudied dynamic and erosive landscape, and explain how the landscape has changed. The pattern is similar to reported data from the Central Plains and western Rolling Plains but dissimilar to the Southern High Plains. High rates of erosion and geological controls on the South Fork of the Double